


Never too old to play pretend

by Manessa77



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 13:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7575208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manessa77/pseuds/Manessa77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Stilinski always has the best plans. Such as asking Lydia Martin to be his fake girlfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never too old to play pretend

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you'll enjoy this little thing even though it has gotten out of hand when writing. I had to hold myself back from writing even more.  
> Allison Argent never died in this one, I refuse this plot.  
> Also, this is set somewhere after the end of Season 5B.

 

“No!” Lydia’s heels clicked rhythmical as she made her way through the filled hallway of Beacon Hills High. Everyone wanted to leave, and so did she. At least that was the case until the moment Stiles had pulled her aside. Based on the nervous expression that played on his features she had braced herself for the worst case scenario. Another serial killer, another teenage kid that had turned into something Lydia only knew from the countless books she had read. But the words that had tumbled out of her friend’s mouth had taken her by surprise, leaving her dumbfounded for a moment. Since then, their conversation had turned in an endless circle of ‘No’ and ‘Why’.

“Come on, Lyds!” Stiles’ voice was desperate, begging even, has he followed the strawberry blonde with long steps. He was aware that his plan might not be the best, but there were worse ones! And that was something, right?

“No.”

“Please, just think about it for a second or two! It really isn’t as bad as you make it out to be. Think about it. Let the idea warm to you. I will even go shopping with you.” His hands flew around wildly as he gestured, trying to prove his point.

Lydia stopped, turning around slightly so she could look at the taller male, sighing. “Okay, let me think about it again.” The boy’s eyes grew wide with anticipation and joy as his friend was quiet, her mind hopefully drifting to all the places that would show her how well thought-out that idea of him was. “Done.” He smiled as the girl’s eyes focused on him. “Still no.” Both her words and the harshness they came out with made him drop his smile immediately.

Lydia ignored the grunt that escaped her friend’s lips as she turned around swiftly, walking away again. Following right behind her was Stiles, still nowhere near giving up.

“Why not? Tell me why we wouldn’t do it!” Stiles kept talking as they kept dodging other high school students on their way out of school, some of which even made way to let the heated couple walk through. The crowd grew thinner as they reached the end of the parking lot and Lydia stopped again, causing Stiles to crush into her.

“Because your plan sucks. No offense.” Lydia slowly turned around to look at the taller male. Her expression was a mix of annoyance and apology. His plan did suck, surely everyone would agree on that. But apparently it meant a lot to him, though the reasons were unclear to her, and she felt bad for how harsh she was with it.

“How does it suck? It’s two friends going to the wedding of the friend of one of the friends.”

“No. It’s two friends going to the wedding of the friend of one of the friends – pretending to be a couple!”

“That’s nothing but a minor detail.”

“Minor detail? You should overthink your definition of minor details!”

“What? Are you afraid you’ll like it?” Stiles wiggled his eyebrows playfully, but Lydia was clearly not as entertained as he was.

A silence spread over the couple in which Stiles watched every little move of the strawberry blonde girl. How Lydia tucked on the bracelet on her right wrist, how her chest rose and fell as she took slow breaths. She was gorgeous as always, and if you wouldn’t know her for a longer time you’d have no idea how cold she once had been or what terrible things had happened to that small, innocent girl.

“I hate you.” Stiles snapped out of his thoughts at the voice of Lydia, his eyes locking with hers as a smile spread across his whole face.

“Is that a yes?” He didn’t wait for a reply as he closed the distance between them and pulled the girl into a tight embrace. “I promise, you will not regret this! We’ll have a blast!” He felt and heard Lydia’s chuckle as he slowly peeled out of the hug, watching her slightly shake his head.

“You’re crazy, Stilinski. Did anyone ever tell you that? Anyway, keep your Wednesday afternoon free, we’ll go shopping. You promised!” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at him, one corner of her lips tucking up in a challenging smile before she turned around to leave. All the while, Stiles was standing there watching the redhead weave through the parking cars as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Um… the wedding is kind of this weekend.” At his words, Lydia stopped and slowly turned around. The smile gone from her face, Stiles could feel the burn of her stare on him. “Did I not say that? I swear I did, I remember saying it!”

The girl saved her words, knowing it was no use anyway. She just grunted as she started walking again, this time heading for his car. “Come on then, we have a lot of shopping to do. You’re driving!”

*

For the rest of the week neither Stiles nor Lydia said a word about their deal, not wanting the rest of the pack to know what they were doing. The wedding was on Saturday, so their plan was for Stiles to come pick Lydia up at her house. When Allison, Kira and Malia had asked Lydia to spend the weekend with them for a study date and some girls only time she had denied, pretending she had already filled her weekend with plans for her and her mother. But instead, Lydia had decided that this whole wedding thing was enough of a reason to treat herself to a relaxing day with a long, warm bath before she took all the time she wanted to get herself ready.

By now, Lydia was standing in front of the large mirror that was hanging in their hallway, applying finishing touches to her lipstick as she waited for Stiles, who had texted her that he’d be around in five minutes to pick her up. Via the mirror, Lydia could see her mother coming from the kitchen, leaning against the frame of the door as she watched her daughter.

“I had no idea you were going to a wedding.”

“It slipped my mind completely. You know, with all the things that happened and senior year.”

“So who are the lucky ones getting married?”

“Oh, you don’t know them! Just a girl from college, you know one of those I spend the summer before junior year with every now and then? Anyway. Shouldn’t you be at your book club meeting? Or should I call it wine club?” Lydia willed her mother to retreat at the slight offense.

Natalie’s lips curved up into a smile as she crossed her arms. “Lydia Martin, you are going with a boy.”

Lydia turned around quickly, the hair she so carefully had curled flying around her. “What?”

“Lydia sweetheart, I know you for eighteen years now and I know when you try to get rid of me. So am I right or am I absolutely right?”

Seeing the happy smile on her mother’s lips Lydia couldn’t help but roll her green eyes in the moment that the doorbell rang. Lydia turned to go and open it, turning her head as to answer her mother. “So what? Can’t a boy and a girl go somewhere without it being anything more than friendship?”

When she opened the door she noticed how Stiles’ face lit up with a smile, his eyes wide and his mouth in an o-shape as he looked at her with her wavy hair and gorgeous pale pink dress that softly flew down her body towards the floor.

“You look good. I mean you don’t look good, you look great! Amazing, really!” Stiles took a deep breath, calming himself before he tried again. “You are very beautiful, Lydia.”

She averted her eyes to the ground, feeling the blush creep into her cheeks. “Thanks. You look very handsome yourself.”

Lydia was well aware of how attractive Stiles was and she’d been lying if she hadn’t stolen a glance at him every now and then. But besides his looks, not even the worst clothing could let Lydia forget that he could be incredible sweet and was the smartest person she knew.

They smiled at each other, both not wanting to say anything that could break this moment, when Lydia’s mom coughed behind them, causing them to shifting their attention away from one another and towards each other.

“Mrs. Martin! I promise you I will get Lydia home by midnight, the latest.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, the two of you are old enough. It would be the first time she’d be home before midnight anyway.”

Lydia quickly headed back to the mirror where she had left her bag, placing a quick kiss on her mother’s cheek. Before being able to move away, her mother reached for Lydia’s wrist, leaning in closer. She spoke as quietly as possible so Stiles, who was still standing by the door and looked around, wouldn’t hear them. “To answer your question: Yes, a girl and boy can go somewhere without it being anything more than friendship. But you and Stiles? That’s a different story.”

For a moment the two females looked at each other, Lydia clearly annoyed while her mother had a smile on her face. When she noticed that her mother wouldn’t give in she just shook her head.

“I’ll see you tonight.” With a smile on the face she headed towards the door to the waiting Stiles. “Have fun at your wine club!”

*  
During the car ride there was a silence between them, only the music of the radio playing. Both were stealing looks at the other one, not that they would ever admit that though.

“So, tell me some things that I should know?” Lydia tilted her head, watching Stiles’ profile as he focused on the road.

“Well, there isn’t much really. Their names are Collin and Jessica, he is a Deputy and she works at some store, I think. Something with clothes, you’ll like her. They have a five-year-old daughter. Guess that’s pretty much it.” Stiles looked over at Lydia, shrugging slightly at his own words.

“So why are you invited then?”

“Why not? Wouldn’t you invite me to your wedding? I’m a great wedding guest!” Stiles wiggled his eyebrows, not mentioning that he still had a certain amount of hope that he’d be at her wedding as groom. “Collin started working at the station when my mom was getting worse. So when my dad had to work late at night I visited Collin for dinner or for doing history homework. I liked dinner better.”

A small smile spread across Lydia’s face as she listened to his little story. “Well, they sound like nice people then. Why didn’t you just go alone?”

“I might have told them I’d bring my girlfriend.” Stiles stole a look at Lydia as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, squinting his eyes together.

“But you don’t have a girlfriend.” They looked at each other, Lydia pursing her lips as she slightly shrugged her shoulder about the fact she had just stated.

“Yeah I’m aware of that, thank you. I know it was stupid, but when he asked me if I’d bring someone I didn’t exactly want to say that I’m still a loser without a girlfriend.”

His words had caused the silence between them to spread again as Stiles focused on the road. It wasn’t until Stiles had parked the jeep in a row of cars that Lydia spoke again. “Personally, I don’t think you’re a loser. But if being single defines being a loser to you, then I guess I am one too.”

Stiles laughed, shaking his head. “Have you looked at yourself today? No loser ever looks that good.” With a wink he opened the door and jumped out, hurrying around his car to open the door for Lydia. Offering his arm, she looped hers through his as they headed towards the group of people that had already formed. Lydia scanned them and the decorations around them, seen as she had always loved weddings when she was a kid. She had probably imagined a million different versions of her perfect wedding. But when her eyes fell on a car she stopped in her tracks, making Stiles slightly stumble.

“Is your dad here too?” When Lydia saw the confused expression on the brunette’s face she nodded into the direction of the car she had seen earlier, one that she had seen in front of the Stilinski house multiple times. She didn’t had to ask any further questions, Stiles dumbfounded expression said more than any answer he could have given her. “Let me guess, he was not involved in your perfect plan?” she mused.

“Okay, my plan has a flaw or two.” He shifted from one foot to the other, looking from his father’s car to the group of people before his eyes focus on the shorter girl next to him. “You know you can just leave, you don’t have to do this and embarrassed yourself.”

The strawberry-blonde shook her head slightly. “I told you I’d do that. How bad can it be? Besides, I spend hours getting ready, let’s not get that to waste, shall we?” Lydia tiled her head, a smile playing on her lips, but there was nothing similar to it on Stiles face. Allison’s words played through Lydia’s head as she looked at her friend, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t frown, Stiles. Someone could be falling in love with your smile.” Those words caused the corners of his lips to curl up slightly into a soft smile as he held out his hand to her. And in that moment Lydia did fall a little more in love with Stiles.

They ended up being slightly late, so instead of greeting a lot of people which neither of them knew anyway, they searched for two seats rather in the back. It’s not like Stiles noticed much from the ceremony that was going on, at least not after a certain strawberry blonde stole all of his attention when she reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his, as if it were the most usual thing in the world.

The ceremony was beautiful, not only because Lydia was with him but because the couple getting married were good friends of Stiles and seeing two friends being as happy as they were made him feel all warm inside. After the vows had been exchanged the crowed spread out, some heading for the food, others finding themselves together to talk. Lydia and Stiles had decided to stay a little further away as they hardly knew anyone. It was only when the Sheriff joined them they noticed who he was with.

“Son. You look good, I had no idea you even had a suit. Lydia, you look gorgeous but I think everyone already told you so. I had no idea you were coming too.”

“Thank you, dad. I even know how a tie works, can you believe that? And yeah, I thought since I could bring someone I’d ask Lydia. From the whole pack she was definitely the one who’d like to dress up for the wedding the most. I had no idea you’d bring Melissa. You look really gorgeous by the way as well.” Stiles looked to his dad, a smile on his face. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Tell you? No, nothing at all.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow as he watched his father’s facial expression for any possible hint but he was disturbed when Collin, the groom, came to join them.

“Thanks for coming, Sheriff.” He shook everyone’s hands until he reached Lydia last. “You must be Stiles girlfriend? Nice to meet you, I’m Collin. I thought he’d just have a big mouth when he bragged about you. No offense but how could a girl be in love with someone that crazy?”

While Stiles cursed silently at the looks he got from his father, Lydia went through all the reasons why being in love with someone as crazy as Stiles was very possible. His smile that warmed her heart. The fact that he had sacrifice his life for his friends at any time. His sarcastic comments that she found amusing as well as annoying. The way she could call him at any time and he would come. But she pushed her thoughts away for another time. “Nice to meet you too, I’m Lydia. Trust me, I ask myself every day why him. Guess you can’t help the places love ends up.”

Their smalltalk continued for a few minutes until the groom left the group to get back to his wife. He was hardly out of ear-shot when the Sheriff looked at Stiles. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“No, thanks, I’m fine.”

*

Stiles couldn’t have imagined the day to be any better. He had spent all his time with Lydia and considering even his father thought that she was his girlfriend he had no reason why he shouldn’t stare at her all the time, taking in her full beauty, memorizing it. They had talked with each other, had laughed together and had spent a good amount of time dancing to agonizing slow songs that allowed them to get so very close to each other. By now the sun had set and Lydia was standing next to him, her head resting on his shoulder as they watched the firework.

“I’m starving.” Lydia tilted her head upwards to look at the taller male, eyebrows drawn together as she wondered why he was suddenly complaining about being hungry.

“We just had food a couple hours ago.”

“No. We had fish eggs and other things I can’t pronounc. And I don’t eat anything I can’t even pronounce.”

Lydia sighed. She wasn’t a huge fan of caviar either but she was sure Stiles was being a little drama queen right now. “Do you want to ask if they’ve got something else?”

“No.” There was a moment of silence that fell over them. “Hey, have you ever been to the diner just out of the city limits? The one across from the gas station?” Stiles could feel Lydia shaking her head while it still rested on his shoulder. “Do you want to go there?” A nod from her that caused him to smile softly. He reached for her small hands that fit so perfectly into hers as they walked to say their goodbyes. First to the happy couple that got married that day, then they headed to the place they had last seen Stiles’ dad and Scott’s mom.

“Oh, are you two leaving already?” Melissa looked at the couple as she placed her empty glass on the table.

“Yeah, we were just saying goodbye to everyone. You two will get home fine, right?” Stiles knew that both of them were responsible but asking was the polite way to go.

“We will be fine, thank you Stiles. It was great to see the two of you today. Under better circumstances than usual.”

The Sheriff nodded. “Listen, we’ll stay here for a little while longer. Around two hours, I would say. At least. So you know, you have the whole house to yourself.”

Melissa hit the Sheriff’s upper arm while Lydia covered her mouth, having a hard time containing her laughter. Stiles, however, was looking at his father puzzled for a short moment before he realized what he had just implied.

“Oh my God! No! I don’t even want to say anything to that!” Stiles was horrified that his father would make such a suggestion. He reached for the hand of the strawberry blonde, pulling her with him in the direction of the cars. “Come home whenever, there is nothing going on. Nothing!”

Lydia wasn’t sure if Stiles was able to pick up on the words of the adults as he kept on cursing but hearing them brought a smile to her face.

“Who would have thought?” Stiles’ father asked the woman next to him.

“Oh I’ve been waiting for this for a couple of years already. I hope Scott has enough money. You don’t know? They have a bet going on. And he owes a lot of people a lot of money now.”

*

Stiles had taken off his jacket and tie, but they still made a funny picture as they sat in a small, almost empty diner, sharing curly fries and sipping on their milkshakes. They had lost track of time as they sat there, talking, almost being in their own universe.

The brunette boy laughed, telling the girl across from him about the time he and Scott – mostly he – had decided that they needed a pool in Stiles’ backyard so they had started to dig a hole. The blow that came when his dad came home that day was terrible in the moment, but now Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. And so did Lydia. However, her laugh got caught in her throat when she saw two familiar people enter the diner.

“Oh no…”

Stiles drew his eyebrows together. “Oh no what? Lydia? What happened?”

“Hey! You two are here too, that’s amazing! What are you doing here?” Stiles took a deep breath, putting on a smile as he turned his head to face his best friend and alpha as well as the annoying little beta. Of course of all the times he got food from here it had to be today that Scott and Liam showed up.

“Hey. Oh we just got a little hungry. Can you believe Lydia has never been here? So I took her.”

“Dressed like that??” Liam looked from Stiles to Lydia and back, curious to know what was going on. But instead of replying Stiles scooted to the side, giving both werewolves some space to sit. If they were already here and ruined the moment he could also ask them to sit with them. They ordered as silence spread over the group. Stiles and Lydia shot glances at each other, asking the other one what they should do now.

Liam leaned over to Scott and lowered his voice as he spoke. “They smell weird.”

“Yeah Liam, I can hear you perfectly fine without supernatural hearing.” Stiles focused his eyes on the younger boy, already annoyed by his presence.

“Sorry, but it’s true.”

“You know what else is true? The fact that I will chain you up in the woods if you ask that question again. No werewolf senses!”

Liam rolled his eyes though Lydia had a hard time containing her chuckle. Without saying a word, the beta now focused his eyes on Stiles, hoping that staring at him with a questioning look would break him at some point.

It didn’t affect Stiles at all for a long period of time as he talked to Scott and Lydia, but once Liam started to eat while still staring at Stiles it broke him. “Oh my God!” Stiles took a deep breath, preparing for the laughter that would come from his friends. Great, now they were going to know. And Liam especially. He could only imagine what jokes the beta would make, he’d never be able to live that down. But even worse was the fact that Lydia was dragged into all of this with him and it wasn’t even her fault at all. His plans sucked. “I just … I asked Lydia to –“

“He asked me on a date a couple weeks ago. We’ve been dating since then and since a friend of his was getting married today we thought we could go together.” Stiles looked at the redhead with an open mouth. Did she just say they were a thing?

He didn’t even had a chance to think longer about it when he felt his friend pat him on the shoulder. “Yeah buddy! Congratulations! You guys could totally have told us though.”

“We wanted to wait a little until we were sure that it worked out. Otherwise it would have been such a weird situation for everyone, we didn’t want that.”

Scott nodded along to Lydia’s words. She was a genius, so was Stiles, they were probably right with what they had done he thought. “Anyway, I’m really happy for you guys! The next round of milkshakes is on me!”

*  
They had been standing in front of the Martin house for about five minutes now, neither saying anything. In fact, they hadn’t said a word since they had left the diner, letting Scott and Liam know that Lydia should be home. Not that the two of them believed it, they rather thought that the two just wanted to have some one-on-one time. But now they were sitting there, neither really sure what to do or say.

“So.” Stiles stretched the word as he turned around to Lydia, not being able to take the silence any longer. “What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know, I thought you were the one with the brilliant plans.” Her words earned her an eye roll from the boy but all Lydia did was shrugging it off. “Guess we just keep going? We convinced them today so we just do it again for a few days and then break up.”

Stiles nodded along to the girl’s words. He agreed with what she said, it would probably be the best way to get out of their lie without making a fool of either of them. But what made him uneasy was the fact that he didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty. But he should, shouldn’t he? After all he was going to lie to his whole group of friends. And even worse, he was lying to Lydia too. Because pretending to be her boyfriend was probably one of the best things he could have imagined, besides actually dating her of course.

He was in his thoughts as he noticed Lydia leaning over, her soft lips pressing against his cheek for just a few seconds, but it was long enough to send Stiles to heaven.

“Good night. See you on Monday at school, boyfriend.” The redhead smiled at the last word before she reached for her bag and jumped out the car, waving as she got into the house.

Once the door was closed she waited, peeking through the small window until she saw Stiles taking off. Normally she would check on her mother, would tell her that she was home, but Lydia was too tired and exhausted to continue their conversation from earlier that day. So instead she simply headed up into her bedroom, kicked off her heels and let herself fall onto the bed, sighing in relieve and happiness alike.

For a while she just lay there, eyes closed as she let the day pass by again. She had enjoyed it, a lot in fact, that little bit of “what if” with Stiles. They were a good team, best friends that could always count on each other. But being more than just friends felt good too and she couldn’t deny the butterflies she felt in the pit of her stomach as she thought about them dancing, where nothing else mattered. No werewolves, no life-threatening situations, no school, nothing. Just the two of them in that moment, in their own world as they danced.

Her mind wandered to that place again and again until the shrill sound of her phone pulled her back into her room. Lydia sighed when she saw that the caller ID showed Allison’s name. She didn’t have to be that smart to know what was going to come. She put her phone to her ear but didn’t even had the chance to say anything as her friend started to talk between squeals.

“I cannot believe it! And you didn’t tell me. Me! Your best friend! Lydia you should totally have told me!”

“Hey Allison. Yeah, I’m doing totally fine, thanks. How are you?” Lydia shook her head, smiling at her friend’s sudden enthusiasm.

“Of course you feel fine. You should feel amazing! Because this is amazing! Finally! Even if I’m a little mad at you, you have to tell me everything. You hear? Everything! Every little detail. Well, not the dirty stuff. Oh who am I kidding? Especially the dirty stuff.”

Lydia didn’t know why her cheeks suddenly heated up, but she covered her slight unease with a laugh. “Calm down, Allison. I’ll tell you everything you want to hear. But do you maybe want to hear about it tomorrow? It’s past two in the morning…”

“Lydia…” Allison’s voice was no longer high and excited, but rather calm as she continued talking. “I’ve been waiting for this since I know you. I am not going to wait any longer. No matter the circumstances.”

*

Monday was somewhat dreadful, and so was Tuesday. Every morning when they met in the parking space, Lydia and Stiles exchanged nervous glances, telling each other that they were fine, that they could pull this off for just a while.

In the end it wasn’t hard. Not even Malia, who often picked up on the slightest shift of emotions, mentioned anything. After a few days it was normal to them to stand closer, fingers intervened or leaning against each other. It was no longer an act for either of them, but they both were too scared to touch that subject, afraid that the other one would not feel the same. Stiles himself had taken several attempts of asking Lydia on a date – a real, actual date with just the two of them, not pretending anything – but whenever he caught her alone he lost his bravery and instead thought of all the reasons why Lydia Martin should not like him as anything more than her fake boyfriend.

When Monday of the yet another week had rolled in the pack found itself around a table, having their lunches while a lot of different discussions went on. Scott, Stiles, Kira and Isaac talked about lacrosse while Malia listened to them; Allison and Lydia sat over an open book discussing their homework. Neither Lydia nor Stiles thought it was odd that his arm was draped around her shoulders as they didn’t even pay attention to each other. It wasn’t even planned, it just came natural. It was a mumble of words mixed together as they discussed the different topics.

“You never kiss each other.”

The table went quiet and everyone shifted their eyes to young Liam who had kept quiet during the conversation. Stiles and Lydia immediately made eye contact, knowing that he was referring to them. Nobody knew what to say for a few seconds as they shared confused looks.

“You know what, little one? You don’t have a clue. You’re too young for this.” Stiles looked at Liam, eyes narrowed as he willed him to be quiet and not dig any further.

“You’re two years older.”

“And those two years give me a lot of experience. One day you will understand too, Liam. Now eat your meal so you will grow into a big and strong wolf, will you?” Meanwhile Stiles’ mind went to all different places in search for a way out. What if Liam was aware of their game? What if he asked them to kiss? Stiles would kiss Lydia, he would actually like to kiss Lydia, but he had no idea if she would like it as well.

“If you answer my question…”

“Technically seen you didn’t ask a question, you just made a statement.” Lydia shrugged as she corrected the beta, earning herself an approving nod of Stiles.

“Okay. Why don’t you ever kiss each other?”

“For the love of God, you’re a terrible being. We don’t like to kiss with everyone watching! That bad?” Stiles couldn’t help but roll his eyes. If only they had thrown him in the lake like he suggest at the very beginning.

“You never minded when you were with Malia.” Liam shrugged slightly while Malia nodded in agreement.

“Listen up, if you keep asking about things that have nothing to do with your little furry butt I will chloroform you, drag you deep into the woods, chain you up and leave you to be eaten by something!”

“Liam does have a point.” This time it was Isaac who had piped in, causing all of the eyes to focus on him as he popped a grape in his mouth.

“Okay, I will also drag your little ass out into the woods, chain the two up together in fact! And you know what else I will do? I will burn your scarves, one by one, in front of your eyes. Yeah.”

“Can we not drag anyone anywhere and burn nothing?” Scott lifted his eyebrows as his gaze shifted between the three guys. Even though he was the Alpha, he was somewhat helpless against them in situations like these.

The whole group fell into silence as each of the boys looked down on the food in front of them, neither was exactly happy with the words that came out of them. Lydia sighed slightly as she weaved out of Stiles’ arm, getting up to leave the group.

“I’ll head home. You guys enjoy your last classes.” She had already turned around to leave when Allison spoke up, holding her back.

“You’re coming tonight, right?” Allison lifted an eyebrow in question as Lydia slowly turned around, confusion written all over her face.

“Tonight?”

“The lacrosse game! We’re all going and we thought you would come as well. To support the team … and Stiles.” Kira looked around the group before her and the eyes of everyone else focused on the strawberry blonde.

Lydia sighed almost inaudible as she nodded. “Yeah, of course I will come…”

*

Just like earlier today, Lydia was dressed in a short dress with a faint floral print, a jacket in her hands, as she followed Allison and Malia to the bleachers by the lacrosse field where Hayden was already waiting for them. Was Lydia excited for the game? Not particularly, after all those games hardly ever stayed just regular games and there were a lot of things she could do with her evening besides sitting on cold and hard bleachers watching their not so successful team play a game. She kept on telling herself that she had come to keep the act up that she and Stiles were dating, though somewhere deep inside she knew she came to actually root for Stiles.

“So did you make a huge sign?” Allison wiggled her eyebrows as she looked at Lydia with a playful smile on her face.

“Don’t even start with it.” That was one of the many moments Lydia had successfully pushed out of her memory and she didn’t feel like bringing it back today.

“What sign?” Malia had come to watch Kira. Though neither of them admitted it, everyone knew that something was going on between the two girls.

“No sign at all, Allison is just talking absolute none-sense.” Lydia flicked her hair back, hoping to settle the discussion with this, but her best friend had other plans.

“When I came here and Lydia was still with Jackson she had a sign that read ‘Jackson is the best’ and all things along those lines.”

“Why would you do that? It’s ridiculous, he couldn’t read it while he played.” Confusion crossed the coyote’s face as she looked at Lydia who couldn’t help but shake her head.

“As if none of you have ever made a stupid decision.” Standing up she straightened out her dress. “If you would excuse me, I will wish my boyfriend a little bit of luck.” Not looking back she weaved herself through the people, pushing her way through until she reached the side of the field.

“I didn’t think you’d actually come!” Stiles only needed to see her standing there for his heart to beat faster and a big smile to spread over his face.

“Well tell Allison that. She thinks a game is a great time for bonding, just like in the good old days.”

“So did you make me sign?” The boy lifted an eyebrow, having a hard time trying to keep his face straight as he teased Lydia. In response her fist connected with his upper arm.

“Stop it!” She frowned, sending a warning with her eyes his way. “I just came here to wish you good luck. Now usually I don’t wish people luck because it means I don’t believe in their abilities. But the team certainly needs luck.”

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, the team appreciates it.”

“Good. Try to win. I want my boyfriend on peak performance.” Lydia petted him on his upper arm again, smiling up at the taller male. His somewhat dumbfounded expression amused her, she could play this game just as well as he could. Stiles slowly shook his head, a happy smile forming on his face as he slowly got lost in the green eyes of the other one.

When a whistle sounded almost right next to his ear, his whole body fell out of the clouds he had just been in.

“Stilinski! Get your ass on the field!” Coach’s voice was probably just as loud as the whistle and worked up in a way that Stiles was worried the man would have a heart attack at some point.

Stiles didn’t even notice how Lydia leaned forward until her lips brushed against his cheek, his eyes taking in her soft expression on her face. “Try not to get hurt, will you?”

He nodded his head slowly, a little dazed, as he watched the strawberry blonde retreat back through the crowds.

Lydia couldn’t help the smile from forming on her face as she heard the whistle again, followed by the voice of the middle-aged man. “Stilinski! Do you need me to drag you out on the filed by your hair? I’m counting to five, if you haven’t moved you’ll watch from the bench!”

When Lydia reached her friends again she sat down next to them, a smile still on her face.

“You two are cute.” Allison leaned in to her friend, laughing as she hooked her arm through hers.

“I’m getting a stalker vibe from you, and creepy is not a good look.”

“You know, creepy is a gene in my family. I can’t help it Lydia.”

*

“Fine. Maybe the game wasn’t totally bad.”

“Finally! Mark the day in your calendars when Lydia Martin agreed that a lacrosse game wasn’t totally bad!” Stiles words caused the group to chuckle. The pack had been in a good mood since their team won last night’s match. They had spent almost the whole life celebrating, which was nothing more than sitting together in the McCall living room and speaking about regular teen things – no discussion or worry about the supernatural for just one month. Stiles laid his arm around Lydia’s shoulder, pulling her closer to him into a hug. “But it’s okay Lyds, don’t worry. Some just take a little longer to appreciate the good. And you needed until Senior Year.” The strawberry blonde haired girl rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.

“Talking about Senior Year.” Allison piped in, bringing the attention to her. “Scott and I came up with the idea that maybe we could go on a trip together before all the exams start? Like a last fun time. It would also be a fun couple thing to do now that everyone is taken. We thought possibly next weekend?”

The pack mumbled, everyone agreeing to Allison’s suggestion expect Stiles. He kept quiet because he felt Lydia tense.

“Lydia? Stiles? You in it as well? It wouldn’t be right if the pack wouldn’t be complete.” The huntress looked at her best friend, hoping to get a ‘yes’ out of her.

“I’d love to! I could use some distraction from what is dooming over us. Lydia?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on the banshee as she shifted under their stares.

“I don’t think I’d be able to make it. It’s my father’s birthday and he has made it clear that I am to see him at least at his birthday.” Lydia shrugged, hoping the others would still decide to go without her.

“Your dad’s birthday is in winter…” Stiles looked down at the girl next to him, confused by her denial.

Lydia had to control herself not to sigh out loud or give Stiles a snarky comeback that would let him know he better follow any lies she made up when they were pretending to date. Of course it wasn’t the birthday of anyone but Lydia wasn’t so sure if she could play Stiles’ girlfriend for a whole weekend. Not that she didn’t enjoy it, the opposite was the issue. She liked it so much that she was afraid at some point something would happen between them. “No, Stiles. I know the day of my father’s birthday, don’t I?”

Stiles kept quiet and just nodded. He should have known that Lydia tensing up had something to do with the lie they told their friends, but if he was being honest it had slipped his mind at some point. By now it was normal to have his arm around Lydia and wait for her at their lockers. No matter how much he’d like to go on the trip Allison had suggested together with Lydia – be it as friends or a fake couple – he respected Lydia’s decision.

“Come on, Lyds! It will be fun. You can tell your father that you are sick and just call him? Or visit him another day?” If looks could have killed Liam would be dead now, based on the looks Stiles and especially Lydia gave him.

Shaking her head, Lydia sighed slightly. “Sorry Allison. I really wish I could come. But I’m sure you’ll have a great time! Just keep me posted via texts, alright? Because that birthday will be nothing but agony.” As the bell was ringing, announcing that class was about to start, Lydia turned to head for the school building. “And Liam, you don’t get to call me Lyds. Ever.”

*

Throughout the whole day Lydia had kept quiet, lost in her thoughts. Both Stiles and Allison had reassured her that everything was alright, she didn’t have to feel bad for not deciding to go, but that wasn’t exactly why Lydia didn’t want to talk to any of them right now.

When Allison had first suggested the trip Lydia was excited. It would be great to spend the weekend with her friends. And with Stiles. The nights tended to be cold and considering the two of them were probably sharing a tent she couldn’t help but enjoy the thought of cuddling up with him at night. Or hugging him against the cold while laughing with the others or watching the night sky. But that was wrong. They were friends and nothing else. She shouldn't even think about that.

Now she was sitting in her car in front of the Stilinski house, watching the time tick by as her mind wandered the down the same road again. Her eyes went to the room on the second floor that was lit with a soft light, possibly from a computer screen. Sighing, she pulled out her phone to text him.

>> You still awake? Can you come out?

When she saw movement in the window she got out of her car, shutting the door as quietly as possible. Stiles must have run down the stairs because he was already waiting for her in front of the door as she reached it herself, his face filled with worry.

“Are you okay? Did something happen? Are you hurt, did you hear voices again?” The words tumbled out of his mouth like crazy.

“No, I’m fine, everything is okay.”

Lydia could watch as the realization hit Stiles and his facial features went from worry to something that looked like sadness and pain. He just nodded as he sat down on the few steps that lead to the front door, letting his head fall into his hands.

“Guess this is it then.” His voice was strained as he tried to hold back his emotions. This was ridiculous, he knew it would end sooner or later, that this was all just a game.

Sighing, Lydia sat down next to him, staring straight ahead. “Yeah.”

“So what will we do?”

“You’re usually the ones with the plans.”

Instead of replying Stiles simply shrugged. Losing Lydia as his fake girlfriend hurt in a way he’d never thought possible.

“Maybe we can ask the others to just pretend like nothing ever happened.” Lydia turned to look at him and when she realized how all the fire he usually had within him had suddenly vanished she felt her heart hurt. “Can I tell you something?” She wrapped her hands around his which caused him to lift his eyes to meet hers.

“This has nothing to do with anything from earlier today, I’m not mad at you or anything. But I can’t do that anymore, Stiles. Not because I don’t like you, it’s actually the other way around.” Taking a deep breath, Lydia willed her voice to stay steady and the tears not to spill on her face as she was about to reveal everything to him. “I don’t want to be your fake girlfriend. Because I like you, and not in the way a friend likes another friend. I like you in a way I have never liked anyone before. And to pretend to be your girlfriend while others are around hurts because I don’t want this to be pretend. I keep asking myself what it would be like if those moments at school would be normal, what waking up next to you would be like. It feels so good to think about these things, to think about all the what if’s, even if I know I shouldn’t be doing it. I can’t help it and part of me is still selfish and doesn’t want to be able to help it. Before any of this gets out of hand for me I need to end it here. I can’t want someone so badly who isn’t mine to have.”

Lydia could feel a single tear make her way down her cheek and also Stiles’ eyes were glistening. Leaning forward Lydia pressed her lips against his where she let them rest for a short moment once she realized Stiles was not trying to get away from it.

After a few moments that seemed way too short Lydia pulled back, sucking her bottom lip in a little as if this would allow her to taste him longer. Without a word she got up, not looking at Stiles anymore as she walked back to her car.

“Lydia! Lydia wait!”

She had already opened her car when she heard the boy call her name. Turning around she could watch the boy running towards her before he stopped only a few feet away from her. Stiles took a deep breath as he reached for her hands.

“Do you want to go out for dinner with me tomorrow? You can pick the place, the time, anything! I will even eat things I can’t pronounce. But will you go out with me? As my not-pretend girlfriend?”

The nervousness in his voice couldn’t be hidden and Stiles damned himself for the words he had used. He had played out different scenarios out in his head, had imagined all the things he could say to Lydia, but what came out was a mix of awkwardness.

However, Lydia’s lips curled into a smile. “I would love to.”

Stiles couldn’t help the giant grin that spread over his face, caused by the words of his best friend and now also girlfriend. He pulled her towards her, pressing his lips against hers again.

*

“Scott! Tell them to stop!”

Scott was the last of his friends to arrive at school the next morning considering he had made it a habit to bring her mother breakfast if she was at work. He would have lied if Liam’s sudden outburst the moment he showed up didn’t annoy him at least a little.

“Stop what?”

“Stop them to do that!” Liam gestured towards Stiles and Lydia who were just pulling away from a kiss.

Scott chuckled, shaking his head. “I paid Allison a good amount of money for that. And Isaac. And Kira. And Malia. Now I want my best friend to be happy.”

“Thank you, Scott. Thank you. See, you little grunt? This is what is important in this pack. Being nice.” Stiles nodded to support his argument.

“It’s still disgusting. And I thought the two of you were not that kind of couple?”

Stiles smile fell as he regretted his words from a few days prior. He wasn’t going to let that show though. Instead he opened the back of his car and pulled out an iron chain that he dropped on the ground in front of Liam. He didn’t need to say a word, but the chuckle of his girlfriend and the way Liam’s jaw tensed was satisfaction enough.

Lydia turned around to Allison who had watched the scene with amusement. “Hey you and I have to go shopping somewhen this week. If I am to come to the trip I need appropriate clothing and possibly a sleeping bag.” The banshee had never seen her best friend nod her head so excited and she couldn’t help but smile herself as Stiles tugged her a little closer to him, expressing how happy he was with her decision.

The bell rang, releasing Liam from the situation as he and the others headed into the school. Lydia and Stiles stayed behind, kneeling down as they picked up the iron chain again.

“You know, the wedding wasn’t such a bad idea.”

Lydia’s words caused a laugh to escape the brunette boy as he leaned over and placed a kiss on the girl’s lips. “Told you, all my ideas are great. It wasn’t my last one either.”

“I don’t even want to know. I have not seen a thing.” The couple turned around at the sudden voice behind them only to watch as Coach Finnstock walked past them, shaking his head repeatedly. Stiles debated telling him that this was probably not what he thought it was but he had given up hope on this guy for a long time now. Instead, the two of them just chuckled slightly. “I should have stayed in rehab.”

 


End file.
